The 9 most intriguing teams of NHL free agency: What I heard from a buzzy draft combine
BUFFALO, N.Y.
If you stepped into Panorama on Seven at any point last week, you could have taken in quite the scene.
In addition to their advertised remarkable views of the downtown skyline and stunning sunsets, the small hotel restaurant next to KeyBank Center, the Sabres arena, was full at every table with multiple people from the hockey world.
Advertisement Around a corner, CAA super agent Pat Brisson lunched with NHL general managers, one after another.
At the next table, top executives from the Toronto Maple Leafs dined with a group of agents preparing for one of the busier offseasons in the league as Detroits Steve Yzerman ambled by and said hello.
Down the hall, Tampa Bays Julian BriseBois, Utahs Bill Armstrong and other GMs linked up for quiet conversations away from prying media eyes.
Hours later, a whole new group of hockey folks would filter in for post-dinner drinks, new conversations and negotiations.
The NHL always descends on Buffalo at this time of year for the scouting combine, where the top prospects are tested and interviewed in advance of the entry draft.
But this year, with no in-person draft, a weak free-agent class and most teams swimming in cap space, the scene felt different.
Many front offices and agencies flew into town earlier and stayed longer, and their agendas were more harried than ever.
After several long days at Panorama, everyone had tried the turkey BLT sometimes more than once.
As one high-profile agent said of the restaurant on Day 4, around the halfway point of the combines proceedings, I feel like I fing live here.
For a few days, so did The Athletic .
(The sandwich is pretty good.) Based on what we learned from talking to multiple executives and player agents in Buffalo, here are the nine NHL teams set to have the most intriguing offseasons, plus a quick CBA update, as we sit less than three weeks out from a draft and a free agency period that should be full of fireworks.
Anaheim Ducks One question I tried to pose to everyone I chatted with over the past week: Who is going to have the most interesting offseason? Several folks pointed to Anaheim and GM Pat Verbeek wanting to make a big move or two to finally push the young club forward after seven consecutive years out of the playoffs.
Advertisement The Ducks took a jump from 59 points to 80 this past season, and some of their kids (e.g.
Leo Carlsson) seemed to figure things out more as the year went on.
They appear set in goal with Lukas Dostal a restricted free agent who needs a new contract and have some trade chips at the position (John Gibson).
The big question is, what do they do with as much as $25 million in cap space after signing their RFAs? Some of the chatter is that theyll potentially be the high bidder for Mitch Marner, with an unheard-of average annual value north of the $14 million that the Oilers Leon Draisaitl currently makes as the NHLs highest-paid player.
Buffalo Sabres Understandably, after an NHL-record 14 straight years out of the playoffs, no one is happy in Buffalo.
As such, the combine hosts were the center of a lot of scuttlebutt, with three key players out there in trade rumors.
Alex Tuch, coming off a 36-goal season, has one year left before becoming a UFA; if he doesnt want to sign an extension, GM Kevyn Adams likely needs to move him to ensure he doesnt walk for no return.
Bowen Byram and J.J.
Peterka, meanwhile, are RFAs, and both contract negotiations could be contentious given the Sabres struggles.
Just dont expect them to sign offer sheets.
Buffalo has enough cap space to match any outside offer, and more draft picks arent what the team is after as it tries to climb back to respectability.
But Adams needs to handle these three situations the right way or risk more backsteps.
Carolina Hurricanes The Hurricanes had a 99-point season, making it to the conference finals, and yet you get the sense no one is satisfied in Raleigh.
Theyre in Cup-or-bust mode, with $28 million in cap space and a green light from ownership to spend.
Itll be interesting to see how GM Eric Tulsky navigates that freedom.
Advertisement The Hurricanes are obviously going to be in the Marner sweepstakes, as adding a superstar is their top need and they were pushing hard for him at the deadline.
But theyll also have a hole for a top-four defenseman, given Dmitry Orlov isnt expected back and Brent Burns is a 40-year-old unrestricted free agent.
So even though theyll be chasing scoring talent, they have multiple needs and could take a big run at someone such as Aaron Ekblad the top free-agent defenseman if he makes it to market.
Or they could pursue a trade to upgrade their back end, which was exposed against the Panthers in the Eastern Conference finals.
Like a lot of teams, theyll be wrestling with how best to spend a lot of money in an environment without much to spend on.
Florida Panthers Sorry to disappoint any fans of teams that need a center which honestly feels like at least half the league right now but no one I spoke to around the league expects Sam Bennett to be available.
He likes playing in Florida too much and the feeling is mutual.
Assuming he takes the old Elbo Room discount to remain a Panther, however, the intrigue will turn to fellow UFAs Ekblad and Brad Marchand.
Bennett is likely to still cost, at minimum, $8 million per year, which would leave Florida with $11 million to replace a No.
1 defenseman, a top-nine winger and a backup goalie to get to a full lineup without major subtractions elsewhere.
It feels likely that Ekblad, a career Panther, will get the bulk of that.
But what if GM Bill Zito decides Marchand is an integral piece after the way hes excelled this postseason? His asking price could top $8 million, even at age 37, and that would make for some real tough decisions in South Florida.
Los Angeles Kings Ken Holland was one of the executives front and center at Panorama, including in a meeting with Brisson.
It didnt take much imagination to come up with what they were likely talking about, as Brisson represents Vladislav Gavrikov, who the Kings would like to lock up before he makes it to free agency on July 1.
Advertisement The trouble is that Holland is not alone in loving the player.
Gavrikov posted some of the best defensive numbers of anyone league-wide last season, is only 29 years old, and is coming off a season in which he averaged 23:05 of ice time per game, a career high.
And theres no one else like him available this free-agent season.
His asking price could top $8.5 million on a max-term deal, a considerable raise over the two-year, $5.875 million deal he is coming off.
As one executive said during the week, were all trying to find where the new normal is with a rapidly rising salary cap, which will hit $113.5 million two seasons from now, a nearly 30 percent jump from 2024-25.
Gavrikov could definitely be someone who sets a new bar for a defensive defenseman, given that paradigm shift.
Whats interesting is the Kings have enough cap room that they can pay that asking price and still go after Marner with a massive Draisaitl-like offer.
Which is why we have them as a top candidate to land the soon-to-be ex-Leaf.
Everyone expects Holland to be super aggressive in his first year in L.A.
Theres a reason he turned down the Islanders job to take this one: Hes chasing a Cup after being pushed out by the Oilers last summer.
New York Rangers Unlike most of the teams on this list, the Rangers are not in a great cap position especially if you consider the size of the contracts due to RFAs KAndre Miller and Will Cuylle.
On paper, they have around $8 million to spend, which is why the Rangers are likely to be active in the trade market.
Veteran Chris Kreider has been on the block for more than six months, but teams are saying New York could also shake up its blue line, with Miller and Carson Soucy potentially available.
Artemi Panarin is also entering the final year of his deal, so a decision on an extension will have to be made there at some point, too.
Other execs believe GM Chris Drury has one of the toughest tasks in the league in turning around this roster after a disastrous 85-point season and with several key players on the wrong side of 30.
Expect some big, unexpected swings in terms of trades and in free agency.
Heard around the NHL combine this week: #NYR among a handful of teams (BUF, UTA, SEA) looking to shake up their roster soon Shesterkin, Fox and Panarin may be only #NYR untouchables in trade talk Keep an eye on Vladislav Gavrikov and #NYR if Chris Drury can free up space Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) June 7, 2025 Utah Mammoth The Ducks are one popular pick for most likely to be aggressive in free agency.
But Utah is right there, too.
The Mammoth looked awfully close to being a playoff team for much of this season, but struggled to score despite a marvelous 90-point year from captain Clayton Keller.
Their young core up front is only going to get better, but supporting Keller with better veteran depth will be priority No.
1, especially considering they seem set in goal and, if healthier than this past season, on defense too.
Advertisement The Mammoth have 21 NHL players signed (11 forwards, eight defensemen and two goalies) and more than $20 million in cap space, so dont be surprised if theyre in big on Marner, Nikolaj Ehlers and/or any trade targets who can put the puck in the net.
They have plenty of picks and one of the leagues top prospect pools to move the needle in deals, if necessary.
They could be one of the primary teams available to absorb a cap dump from a contending team, especially if it involves a quality forward.
Toronto Maple Leafs Without a first-round pick until 2028 (!) and not much in the prospect pool, its going to be difficult for GM Brad Treliving to make a huge splash in the trade market.
But he needs to find a way to shed some of his bad contracts (Calle Jarnkrok, David Kampf and, maybe, Max Domi) and then spend that windfall into better three-line depth up front.
Looking at this free agent class, thats going to be a tough ask.
The Leafs would also like to bring in a playmaker on D, but that feels more like a want than a must-have at this point, especially with seven NHL blueliners already signed.
More importantly, they would like to upgrade at center, but with Brock Nelson reupped in Colorado and Bennett likely to do the same in Florida, there really arent many UFA options to pursue.
One piece of good news over the past few days is that UFA Max Pacioretty is leaning toward a return after the Leafs expressed considerable interest in keeping him following a terrific postseason, according to a league source.
And the Leafs remain confident they will get Matthew Knies inked to a reasonable second contract without any offer-sheet drama.
Assuming John Tavares re-signs on a hometown discount (i.e., $5 million or less AAV), Treliving needs to then turn the rest of his $15 million or so cap space into some real help up front or Toronto could take a step back without Marner.
Advertisement Would a big run at Marchand make sense, even with his age and sky-high asking price? It certainly looks like a real option, especially considering his ability to rise to the occasion in the playoffs and the alternatives.
Vegas Golden Knights Theres some debate out there about how aggressively Vegas will pursue Marner in free agency, but put us on the side of having them as one of the favorites.
The Golden Knights have been after the Leafs star for a while, including trade talks last summer, per Sportsnets Elliotte Friedman .
But, according to league sources, there were also discussions around a Marner-to-Vegas transaction before the trade deadline this year, a move that would have involved the Hurricanes in a three-way deal.
Theoretically, the Leafs would have received Mikko Rantanen while the Golden Knights got Marner and sent something to Carolina.
Its unclear just how far those talks went, or if Marner was asked to waive his no-movement clause to go to Vegas, but it sounds like what killed the deal was Vegas and Carolina failing to find the right assets to include to get it done not anything on the Toronto side.
(The Hurricanes ended up landing Logan Stankoven, two first-round picks and two third-round picks from Dallas for Rantanen.) The Golden Knights cap situation this summer is tight.
But if they moved someone such as William Karlsson, who has a $5.9 million cap hit for two more years, they could make a competitive Marner bid.
And they wouldnt have to worry about giving up those kinds of assets this time around.
More than a year away from the pandemic-era CBA expiring, collective bargaining between the NHL and NHLPA appears very close to done.
The league and union have done an excellent job of keeping details under wraps, but after poking around at the combine, it certainly sounds like an announcement could come as soon as when the Stanley Cup Final wraps up.
Expect the new agreement to bring labor peace until at least 2030 and not involve any massive changes, aside from the fact that there will now be salary cap accounting during the playoffs.
How exactly that will work isnt yet known, but heres hoping the sides get it right, as it feels like a difficult thing to finesse given how cap accrual and trade deadline acquisitions work during the season.
Advertisement There was, at one point, debate by teams over limiting contract term limits more than the current seven years for outside UFAs and eight for a teams own players.
But ultimately, the argument for the status quo won out.
It centered on the benefit that small-market teams get from longer deals, something in evidence in the final with Draisaitl and Connor McDavid playing on the tail end of eight-year contracts and making only a combined $21 million for the Oilers.
Had the duo only had the option to sign for five or six years out of their entry-level deals, its fair to say theyd be making a whole lot more right now.
If so, who knows whether Edmonton is in this position? (Top photo of Mitch Marner: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images).
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